Once I was out of my self-quarantine, things began to take shape. I was able to socialize, meet new people, and get back to filling out my bucket list of all the places I wanted to visit now that I was living in Italy (of course looking back at it now, this seemed like a wishful thing to do as we are now trying to survive a second wave of COVID…).
My birthday was coming up in August, and my original plan was to visit Cinque Terre—but life had other plans that I was unwilling to pass on.
So on my 28th birthday, I wasn’t on a tourist bus snapping pics of coastal towns and the sea—I was several miles north, deep in the Canton of Ticino, Valle Verzasca.
From Northern Italy (Como), it takes about 1 hour by car and 3 hours by train to arrive here, and it’s difficult to miss.
Despite Italy being a sweaty mess that August afternoon, the weather in the valley was mild, cool, and cloudy—the definition of a perfect escape from the horrors of summer weather. So many others had the same idea that day…
Even though a lot of time was spent commuting, getting through one of the trails that was linked to a parking area took no more than an hour! And within that hour, there were so many picture-worthy sights to take in and return home with:
Does a Hobbit live here??
Honestly, my most favorite sight of the entire trek was this building—the blue window shutters against a white backdrop and flowers on the window sill? It just screamed classic Swiss/European design 😍.
Ultimately, I was glad I was able to celebrate my first day of being 28 years old in the middle of lush, Swiss greenery.
This was my last “trip” of the summer, right around the time others in Italy were preparing for their August getaways. I didn’t feel comfortable asking for an extended amount of time off at the time, since I had just started a new position, and I’m relieved I didn’t. At least I can say I didn’t put myself or others at risk for the sake of lounging on a beach…
Of course, I’d love to explore more of Italy and its neighboring countries when the time allows for it. Verzasca was a lovely teaser for what is still out there waiting for me…
❤
2021, I hope you have more lush green landscapes in store for me...
2020 has been a prime year for immunology, there is no doubt about that. Though recognized as one of the most complex, yet all-encompassing topics in biology, immunology has squeezed its way into the limelight, thanks to COVID-19.
You may have come across these words recently…
Virus.
mRNA.
CRISPR.
Cytokines.
T cells.
Funny how these words were once part of a private exchange between my dense biology textbooks and I, muttered over and over until the concepts gelled in my brain just in time for Advanced Cell Biology exams in the first year of my PhD.
Now they’ve made their way to celebrity status—gracing social media feeds and TikTok videos.
But as a scientist working in the immunology field myself, I cringe when I see posts that have not been fact-checked, or twisted definitions of basic biological concepts circulating in the mainstream media.
Before diving into all the COVID-19 articles out there (many of which are based on publications that have yet to be formally peer-reviewed), let’s get some things straight.
Like, what’s a T cell anyways?
T cells are born in an organ snugly fit between our lungs, the thymus (hence T cells), and are categorized as players of the “adaptive immune system”, which makes sense since T cells are quite the malleable bunch. They adapt to the surroundings of their biological environment, and play a critical role in maintaining immune homeostasis in the body.
T cells have the capacity to develop specific receptors against foreign particles, signaling other players in the immune system to fight off burgeoning infections, while also having the potential to remain in the body for years, ready to fight back in case those particular “foreign” particles enter the body again.
They are further categorized as “T helper” cells (CD4+) or “cytotoxic T” cells (CD8+). CD4 and CD8 are structures made out of carbohydrate and protein “blocks” and exist on the surface of T cells, giving off their identity. CD4+ and CD8+ T cells differ in how they interact with other cells in the immune system and foreign invaders.
CD4+ T cells rely on the help of other immune cells (like B cells and macrophages) to fight off infections. Their ability to secrete particles called cytokines (imagine a cell sneezing onto another cell) helps to activate these supporting immune cells so that they can go on to kill the infectious source.
A simplistic diagram of a CD4+ T cell interacting with a B cell, “sneezing” out cytokines like IL-2, IL-4, and IL-5 to “stimulate” B cells to fight off infections.
CD8+ T cells are more precise in their function, since they are able to kill cancerous cells and virus-infected cells directly. They secrete cytokines as well, two of which are IFNy and TNFa, that can help to destabilize infectious cells and tumors.
Within these two categories, we can break CD4+ and CD8+ T cells down further into three sub-types (though there are more sub-types, the following are the most general).
Naïve T cells are the least differentiated of the three, waiting for the day they can respond to a unique pathogen and develop a specialized functions.
Effector memory T cells (TEM) are rapid-acting and ready to respond to foreign antigens (think, unwanted floating pieces of protein from the “bad guy”), since they are circulating in the blood or housed in non-lymphoid tissues that may be exposed to foreign antigens immediately (like the skin, gut, or lung).
Central memoryT cells (TCM) are more stagnant, residing in secondary lymphoid organs, like the spleen or lymph nodes, unless stimulated by a foreign antigen—after which they can proliferate into an army of effector cells to enter battle.
This is one way we analyze T cells in the lab. Within CD4+ or CD8+ T cells, we can further distinguish the memory sub-types with the markers CD44 and CD62L. CD44+CD62L- are effector memory T cells. CD44+CD62L+ are central memory T cells. CD44-CD62L+ are naïve T cells.
In the lab, we can assess the markers for these T cell sub-types and their cytokine production to determine if a stimulus of our interest (i.e. a potential cancer drug) can help a T cell to be more effective in fighting off infections. The idea has been a prime goal for many immunology-based labs for years.
Faster-acting T cells should also get rid of unwanted, foreign invaders in the body faster, right? Fast is a relative term, and unfortunately in the world of biological science, nothing is ever fast enough.
Still, we do our best to mimic how a T cell functions in real life (or, in vivo as we fondly refer to it) by activating, stimulating, and measuring markers that help further identify a T cell’s function.
In the lab, T cells are often obtained from spleens of mice and grown in culture (a.k.a. in vitro—imagine a large, nutrient-rich suspension full of blob-like shapes, swimming without abandon—those are cells in culture).
T cells can be activated by a number of ways, but activation via CD3 and CD28 is one of the most common ways to do so.
Just like CD4 and CD8, CD3 and CD28 are proteins that are expressed on T cells and are involved directly with activation. CD3 is part of the prime T-cell receptor (TCR) complex and when stimulated with CD28, can lead to the activation and expansion of T cells.
We’ve got the TCR that includes CD3. We’ve got CD28. Let’s get activated!!!
This process normally takes about 2-3 days in the lab, and we can perturb this process by keeping cells in the presence of increasing concentrations of a drug during activation. Depending on the goal of the experiment, T cells can be grown in the presence of this drug for longer periods of time, and we can select different time points to collect cells and measure markers of their present “identity”.
Simply put, we collect these cells at a given time, count them under a microscope, and then proceed to stain them with fluorescent dyes that are bound to the markers we are interested in.
An example of a panel used to assess the characteristics of T cells in real time! This is made possible by Fluorescent-Activated Cell Sorting (FACS) technology!
Remember IFNy and TNFa? When we stain cells, we can add antibodies that are bound to a fluorescent probe that targets these cytokines. Same for CD44 and CD62L, which are prime markers for identifying effector or central memory T cells (as you saw earlier😉).
After staining, we analyze the presence of our markers of interest using a tool called Fluorescent-Activated Cell Sorting (FACS) , which is able to isolate single cells and sort them by the fluorescence they give off.
It can be a tricky thing to configure at first, but once you know what you are looking for, it’s an exciting sight for an immunologist to look forward to:
We can isolate particular cell populations from others before diving into our markers of interest. Here, we are “gating” for where the T cells should be.
Next, we try to isolate single cells (which is what the green rectangle is gating). The reason for doing so is to prevent “sticky” cells that may make the analysis inaccurate. It is possible that one cell could be attached to another and “slide along with it” during the sorting process, giving off a false reading.
When it comes to T cell function and optimizing it, T cells can be transduced, or have DNA introduced into their system via a virus. In this way, T cells can be “engineered” to express certain receptors on their surface if they come into contact with a specific antigen.
In the images below, we are measuring how many CD8+ T cells are also expressing the VB9 receptor after the transduction process with the SV40 virus.
I’ll keep it simple here because otherwise I may get into another blog post within a blog post 😅…
In this plot, we expect very few CD8+ T cells to express VB9, since they were untransduced.
Q2 is where CD8+VB9+ cells *should* be. We don’t expect too much from cells not transduced with the SV40 virus.
But look what happens after a “successful” transduction (look at Q2):
Boom. Plenty more CD8+ T cells expressing VB9 as well!
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There is absolutely no way all of immunology can be covered in a single blog post, let alone T cells, but having a basic understanding is a perfect place to start. The basics are important when it comes to figuring out if what the media is telling us is sensible versus sensational.
And as a scientist in the throws of it, I also come across the other extreme: the demand to read countless of peer-reviewed papers that are dense, distracting, and rather than furthering the field, make it all the more confusing!
Science doesn’t need to be intimidating or exclusive, but it can certainly feel that way given the immense amount of information out there and figuring out how to sift through it all.
The important thing is to keep an open mind, and don’t be afraid if you are not understanding the story before you—in fact, feel free to question it, because ultimately, that’s what science is.
If you found my tidbits on T cells interesting, I recommend these links for more simple as well as some in-depth reading!
I originally wrote this post for my old blog—a post that humorously described the hierarchy of a scientific research lab. I wrote this as a second-year PhD student in February 2016, but I thought it would be fun to reflect on this post as a now post-doc.
The following text is my original post, while my commentary in the present day is in red 😉.
————————————————– 𝕊𝔾𝔻 ————————————————-
I often reference how I have to “pop into lab” or “go out for lunch after lab” in many of my posts, but I have not had the chance (or the patience) to go into detail about my life in lab. I thought it would be fun to describe the usual hierarchy of a lab, so you could have at least some idea of what I have to deal with on a daily basis…
Before I became the dedicated PhD student researcher I am today (😅) , I was an overworked, overexhausted undergrad student, who was treated like a grad student during my first lab research experience. Not all was bad though, as I learned a lot, and had face-time with my boss every time I was in the lab, but as an undergrad student I could only spend so much time in the lab. My boss at the time didn’t understand this, and she kept pressuring me to stay longer, work more, etc. I was able to hold on for a year before moving on to my next experience!
I think PIs don’t understand the concept of work-life balance in general…most just want you to get your tasks done, no questions asked. If you speak up and say it’s too much, perhaps if they are the reasonable type you can reach a compromise to prevent burnout, but most scientists keep to themselves and work without question. This has frustrated me over the years because it’s a form of peer pressure that isn’t healthy. We need breaks, we need rest, and we need to prioritize our time so that we take care of ourselves and our work doesn’t suffer…
The undergrads in my current lab are more like these guys though …
They’re not annoying, but most of them work under a post-doc in my lab who likes to call them “minions”. In my lab, they tend to carry out smaller experiments and tasks, but don’t necessarily have a project on their own. In comparison, I would say I had it a lot better as an undergrad (if we’re talking about getting experience and training… if we’re talking about the preservation of my sanity, then perhaps it would be the opposite 😂).
When it was time for me to recruit and mentor my own set of students, I treated them with dignity and respect. I knew that if I wanted them to help me with my work, I had to take the time to carefully train them and of course, practice patience. It’s never the student who is incapable of comprehending information—it’s the teacher’s job to present the information in a clear way.
Next up on the lab hierarchy are usually research techs/lab assistants. Usually people that are at this stage are students that just finished undergrad, and are trying to keep busy while waiting to hear from the grad/medical school programs they applied to. I fell into this stage right after I graduated from undergrad a year early, and fortunately, it was in a lab that was very laid-back. I wasn’t paid (so that meant working evening shifts at a local outlet store for some $$), but it kept me attuned with the research world as I applied, which also helped with my interviews!
But not all research techs/lab assistants are students-in-waiting. In fact, I’ve come across many people who are older adults, or people who got a B.S. or M.S. in some science major and had to take a hiatus from lab work due to personal circumstances.
My sister completed her master’s degree, and is currently working as a research assistant/lab manager at an established institution. She’s a relatively fresh graduate compared to many research techs/lab assistants—I know a woman who has held this position in a lab for 22 years 😱!
In either case, they’re on a never-ending quest to prove that they’ve got what it takes.
Constantly felt the pressure in grad school with having to “prove myself”
Then there are the grad students, the PhD-type 😛. Their origin can be one of these two: a continuing masters student, or one who is constantly replying “No, I came straight from bachelors” to anyone who asks, “Did you get a masters first?“.
Compared to my years as an undergrad, I would say being a grad student is less intense. Shocked? Don’t be! I still have plenty of work, and with my qualifying exam coming up, I’ll probably be rethinking what I type here, but I am being completely honest when I say I felt more stressed/anxious/obsessive about my work as an undergrad than I do now. I view the work I do now as my job, and I don’t necessarily see myself as a student in the traditional sense. I do have classes I have to take, but unlike in undergrad where my focus was on class and doing well in class, now it’s to produce work in lab and just show your face in class.
Yeah…I spoke to soon 😂. My third and fourth years were the most intense of my PhD career. I felt an incredible amount of pressure in my fourth year, as I was in the middle of manuscript writing. A lot of doubt and negative feelings resurfaced, and it was a tough period in my life to get through. Whoever says the path to a PhD is fun and easy is delusional 🙃
Just above the PhD students, you have the post-docs. These guys and gals try very hard to make sure everyone knows that they are NO LONGER STUDENTS and that they do in fact have 100% earned the right to be called _____ , PhD. There is no denying the fact that they do deserve this, but it can get irritating when you have grad student vs. post-doc argumentsdebates. The PhD student doesn’t want to look stupid when he/she asks a question to the post-doc, and the post-doc wants to make sure that they give the right answer, and “look good” doing so. They also have added pressure to be even more independent than a student, and are often regarded as mini-bosses in the lab.
I’m currently six months into my position as a post-doc in a new lab, and I have to remind myself often that I do indeed have a PhD after my name. That yes, I am a doctor. It may depend on the lab environment, but given the smaller size of my current lab and the lack of available students to help carry out expansive experiments, I’m back to doing all of my work on my own. And this definitely makes me feel like I’m a student 😓.
Finally, we have the primary investigator (Pl). The head honcho. The big boss. The don…
(image source) LOL Can you imagine Shah Rukh Khan, the face of Bollywood leading a scientific research lab?!
I’ve come across three PIs in my overall experience so far (not including rotations), and while they all have their own quirks and personality traits, a couple things stay common for all. As a Pl, your biggest responsibility is making sure your lab has adequate finances. It’s what gives you the freedom to run your lab the way you want to. It’s no secret that funding is extremely tight, so labs can get competitive when it comes to raking in mon-ayyy. In order to make sure the lab is successful, a Pl needs to be assertive, exact, frank, and be able to compromise if necessary (especially when it comes to collaborations, as science is definitely a “it’s who you know” kind of industry)…
Yup, this PI description is still pretty accurate 😁
It’s kind of funny that as a grad student, I fall right in the middle of all these interesting characters! At times, it almost feels like I’m in a sitcom or a TV show with all the crazy interactions and dynamics that go on around me or involve me. I do love it though…
At a conference two years ago with my then-lab’s budget admin.
Ah, how naïve I was back then! The remaining 3.5 years after this post was written were packed with work, but I did find my footing. As I gained seniority, I became more comfortable with my surroundings, my experiments, troubleshooting protocols, and presenting data. I trained over 20 undergraduate and master’s students who sought research experience, and I’ve presented at conferences and published a first author paper in a well-known journal.
I wouldn’t say I love this life, but when results from experiments make sense, your data is validated by your colleagues, and you are recognized for all of the time and effort you put in, it’s hard not to give yourself a pat on the back and take pride in your work!
Sometimes I wonder why I chose this life, but I have to admit that eventually…the difficult times have the potential to become something worthwhile and rewarding.
The risk is in the wait, and the unavoidable unknown…
After almost a month in Milan, I was itching to explore. Quarantine-ing for two weeks made me feel restless, and starting work soon after made me feel a bit overwhelmed, but I went into this experience telling myself these things –
A) Don’t feel pressure to go out “exploring” every single weekend if you don’t feel like it. Italy and surrounding countries will still be there, and you’ll get to them eventually.
B) Weekends are yours and yours only. Work is always going to have its demands, but keep it at work. Do your best and give it your all during the week, but the weekend is there to relax, recharge, and rest. Those PhD weekends working on quantifying images from microscopy even with Netflix in the background were not exactly “fun”, admit it 😂!
Despite starting my new job at a time when people were planning their grand vacations for Ferragosto, I didn’t feel comfortable asking for time off within a week of starting. Looking back, it would have been nice to plan a more leisurely, longer stay in a city outside of the Lombardy region, but I felt most comfortable staying local and going out on weekends when I could.
When my labmates inquured what I would be doing in my next “free weekend from quarantine”, I turned the question on them and asked where they would recommend I travel. One of them immediately spit out “Como!”, and I thought why not?
It sounded beautiful, wasn’t too far by train, and was near one of the supposedly most beautiful lakes in the country. The word for lake in Italian, lago, even sounds more regal than just plain ol’ “lake‘.
When I think of ‘lake’, I think of this stagnant body of water (Folsom Lake, CA, 2005)
I started my half-day “adventure” with a lazy wake-up call (8am for me, lol) and proceeded to take the green line to the closest transfer point for inter-regional trains.
I ended up getting off at Sesto San Giovanni station and made sure to get myself a take-away cappuccino before boarding my train.
I also had my mask!
From there, it was about a 1 hour train ride to Como Lago station, one of the most beautiful train stops I’d ever seen—perhaps it was the summer flora that did the trick:
Como Lago Station
From there, I followed the crowd of passengers from my train towards the city center…since I made the mistake of not downloading Google Maps for the area (I didn’t have data yet because I still had my US number…had to wait at least one more week before getting my Italian one 😂).
As I walked on through, I realized this was the beauty people talked about when they referred to Italy.
The narrow roads, the faded, but beautiful-in-its-own-right architecture. It made sense to take pictures here.
Once I got to the center, I wasn’t sure what to do first—eat? Wasn’t too hungry yet. Shop? Didn’t feel like it. Walk some more?
I opted for walking, and felt the need to inch away from the crowds. Even during pre-COVID times, I tried to keep a distance from crowds 😂.
I ended up walking up an incline into what seemed to be a private neighborhood. It was a long, winding road, and I could definitely see it being used by the locals for their daily cardio.
I love seeing funky buildings like these and wondering what it would be like to live on the top floor.
Bikers passed by me, as well as cars and their annoying honks, as I made my way up. I didn’t want to walk too far without knowing where I was headed, so I made the wise choice to walk back down and orient myself towards the lake instead.
Before turning back however, I had to document the fact that yes, I had stumbled upon something beautiful.
As I made my way back down, it looked as if the crowds had doubled. Orienting myself so the lake was in front and the city center was to the back of me, I decided to walk north starting from the right side of the lake.
I realized about 20 min in that the “better” side of the lake was the left one—after seeing what all was there from my current viewpoint.
As I got further away from the center (and the crowds, again) I was starting to feel hungry and agitated. There were scattered groups of teenagers chatting animatedly and elderly folk walking hand-in-hand, but I soon found an isolated place to rest for a bit.
My walk back to the center was slower in pace, but at least I was ready to eat something. I ventured back to where the shops were, and found a cute bakery:
Ripamonti Bakery
I wanted to use the opportunity to practice my Italian, but two things happened: 1) I happened to be in line right after a pushy Englishman who put no effort whatsoever to speak un po’ italiano. He demanded still water and extra forks. I was embarrassed for him, but mostly irritated by his behavior since the ladies behind the counter assumed I was a tourist who only chose to speak English as well, and 2) I pronounced olive wrong (I should have said “oh-lee-vuh”).
At least I had my (unpictured) foccacia olive alongside some gorgeous views.
After my lunch, I headed towards the left of the lake and the most exciting:
I didn’t care to hop onto a boat or go on a fancy lake tour—-taking my time by foot and soaking in the views on my own was enough for me.
Since it was a day in mid-July, the weather was starting to get unbearable. I had to take another break, but at least it was at an adorable stopping point.
For me, 4 hours was enough, especially going solo. Before leaving back to the station, I got myself a cup of mint gelato. I admired the front of the station before hopping back on the next train to Milan.
Little did I know that I’d be back very soon.
Since that first day in Como, things have taken wild turns on all accounts. Things that I never would have expected, but made me rethink what my priorities were for the time being in regards to travel.
View from the dock
I knew for sure that I wanted to try new activities, have novel experiences, and meet amazing people, so in that sense, I may have sacrificed the chance to explore more of Italy earlier in my journey. I’ve stayed “close to home” for the past (almost) six months in Italy out of choice due to work demands, my personal energy levels, and as already stated my new priorities, but I don’t regret this at all.
My (half) day in Como has led me to where I am right now.
Relatively speaking, living in Italy was on my radar much later, and more recently in my life.
When I began my PhD in August 2014, working abroad for my post-doc never came across my mind. I was too infatuated with Los Angeles, and pre-occupied with my obsession with nutrition, partially influenced by my controlling eating disorder.
But as the years slowly inched forward, I found myself on a healthier path, finally coming to terms with my body and oh, so troubled mind. With more fuel for my brain, I was able to focus on different aspects of life, and go beyond my tunnel vision of calories and nutrients.
As I made more wholesome relationships, began to network, attend conferences, and travel on my own, I realized I had a desire to grow beyond what I had cultivated in Los Angeles. I grew tired of the city, and as friends began to graduate and leave for other places, I grew tired of the people as well. I was aching for a change, and it was throbbing deep within my soul.
At first, Spain was on my mind as a potential location for “my next chapter”. When I came back from my first international trip/business trip/solo trip (3-in-1 😂) to Barcelona in September 2017, the next several months were full of daydreams that occupied my mind during my commute to work.
After getting a taste of what could be, I was eager to find a way back, even if I had to wait at least two more years to finish my PhD!
I downloaded Duolingo, and started “learning” Spanish. I found several post-doc fellowships to keep in mind of, and I had a folder where I kept all of their links in my Chrome browser.
As work began to pile up in my current position—especially as I entered into my fourth year—I put my Spanish daydreaming on hold. I was determined to make it happen, but I obviously had a PhD to complete first! Somewhere amidst the chaos, I realized that the only “decent” post-doc fellowship for a non-Spanish/non-EU citizen was in it’s last year—in 2018. I knew that it wouldn’t work out after all, but I was still eager to make it to Europe.
As if on cue, Italy popped up. A random Google search one day led me to a page for a fellowship program that offered funding to non-Italians for 3 years to do cancer research.
As one thing led to another, I found the perfect primary investigator (PI) to support my application. We began exchanging emails in March 2019, submitted my application in June 2019—a few weeks before my thesis defense actually 😉—and received the good news in November 2019.
When I realized Italy was happening, I was beyond ecstatic. I would become not only an Italian, but a Milanese.
And it was going to happen in late February 2020…until it didn’t.
As we all know, COVID happened. It allowed me to spend quality time with family, but the circumstances in Italy seemed dark and hopeless. I’d refresh the Worldometer stats each day to see if there would be a drop in cases, but every day of April 2020 just brought upon more and more anxiety.
I was honestly beginning to lose hope. I thought of back-up plans, and took a break from learning Italian. If I wasn’t so sure I was going anymore, what was the point?
But things finally took a positive turn at the end of May 2020. I was receiving emails again, got the greenlight to return to LA to process my visa, the go-ahead to book my tickets and temporary apartment, and finally allowed to comfortably imagine what my new life would be like…
…beautiful buildings at every turn, friendly colleagues, warm Italians who spoke not one word of English and who would delight in my attempts to learn the language, making new friends, frequenting fancy aperitivi, dating for the first time…
And this new life began on June 23, 2020.
Seeing Milan for the first time, up in the air…
And my first impressions of the city were…wow, everything feels much smaller, and not as grand as I was thinking…
The most bizzare part was not going through a passport/visa check. My flight path was Los Angeles ➙ Paris ➙ Milan, and there was some paperwork I had to fill out between LA and Paris, but the fact that nothing was checked was very weird…especially during the age of COVID.
Still, I followed everyone out, hauled my three hefty pieces of luggage + my carry-ons to where I met a family acquaintance. My cousin’s husband (the folks we met in Dubai) connected me with one of his work contacts who lived in Milan, and she thoughtfully offered to help me get into the city and get some groceries for me since I had to complete a two-week quarantine upon arrival.
My temporary stay was in an Airbnb that I thought was affordable and a decent distance away from work—but there were definitely drawbacks. The small space in the not-so-gorgeous neighborhood of Cimiano did not help emphasize the idea that Milan was a gorgeous, fashionable European city…
When someone asks what you need for 2 weeks, it can be tough to answer. For me at least, since I only buy a few things at a time…but I was asked to give a list of everything I needed, so my mind went to the basics—milk, cheese, eggs, bread, fruit, veggies, pasta. Needless to say, my diet was very well-rounded in those 14 days
But I had to get used to these “cozy” accommodations because it was my abode for, at least, 14 long, isolating days. I got used to sleeping in late (10/11am for me!!), running in place to get my exercise in, having breakfast and lunch around noon, taking a nap in the afternoon (man, I miss those naps now…), and trying to keep myself occupied (and sane) until night.
Fresh fruit with a view (?) – I rarely go for oranges or grapes, so you know I did not get to picky with that quarantine shopping list 😅
Surprisingly, those two weeks did go by pretty quickly looking back.
The first thing I did to ease myself out of my quarantine was get used to the local park settings. Parco Lambro was only a mile away, and it has since become my go-to place for my weekday morning runs.
Parco Lambro, a July Sunrise
It was here that I met my first friends in Milan—the good ol’ topi muschiati
The muskrats of Parco Lambro. Doesn’t it look like a mother eggplant and a baby kiwi? 😂
As my end-of-quarantine day neared, so did my groceries. I was still a bit hesitant about going out grocery shopping in an Italian grocery store for the first time, but I put on my mask and walked 30 minutes to a supermarket when there was one about 10 minutes away from where I was staying 🤣
Mask ON
I was supposed to stay at my current residence until the end of July, but due to my Airbnb “host” not being cooperative with certain pieces of paperwork required for my Permesso di Soggiorno, I had to quickly find another residence.
The back and forth with Airbnb regarding this issue was an absolute nightmare, and honestly worthy of it’s own blog post. Doubt I would ever find the time and energy to rehash that experience here on the blog, but that experience alone has made me look to support other home-stay companies in the future…
Luckily, I did find another place in a timely manner, and my boss even helped me move—which was shocking to me, only because I’ve never had a boss who helped me with things in my life outside of work 😂.
As I settled into my second residence, I also began work soon after. It felt weird to work in the lab again after many months working remotely, but a new environment, new colleagues, and a new project was what I needed to feel productive again.
And knowing I had the following weekend to explore without quarantine restrictions was a sweet thing to look forward to.
Going out exploring!
I didn’t venture out too far during my first weekend of freedom. I stayed within the vicinity of the northeast corner of the city, with my main goal for the day being to order an authentic Italian cappuccino in Italian.
And I was successful, but I was too shy to ask for some dolci along with it. Let alone zucchero. But evern without the sweetness, I was happy with my warm cuppa from UpCycle Milano:
Cappuccino from UpCycle Milano
The end of my quarantine however also coincided with the start of unbearably hot summer temperatures. I ended up walking from the cafe, which was in the Citta Studi neighborhood, to only a few blocks south before turning around.
Politecnico di Milano was my turn-around point
So I didn’t trek through much in that first weekend, but I was able to plan for the next weekend properly. I pretty much explored “most” of Milan within this weekend, as I made it a point to get out of the apartment and check out as many neighborhoods as I can, even if I was feeling a little lonesome and homesick.
At Parco Sempione, I was able to meet up with a fellow runner for a hot evening run.
Parco Sempione, July 11th, 17:53
We haven’t met since, but it was a nice excuse to get some miles in in a new place.
From there, I fell in love with Brera, probably my most favorite area of Milan.
If I could find an affordable place in Brera…wow, sign me up!
Now this was what I was thinking ALL of Milan would look like 😂.
A stroll through this beautiful neighborhood eventually led me to the cuore of the city, the Duomo:
The Duomo of Milan
Funny how even in the middle of July, the “crowds” were not much!
Oh, and the galleria next to the Duomo made me speechless…
🤩
So this made for an eventful Saturday (evening), yet I wanted to do some more exploring on Sunday.
Stumbling upon Piazza Duca d’Aosta during my stroll on Sunday
I was met with unsurprisingly empty streets. Since I had arrived in the peak of summer, when people were weary and relieved from the passing of the first COVID wave, I expected that many Milanese would leave the city for the countryside. I wanted to appreciate the fact that the city was all mine, but I was definitely having a huge case of FOMO.
A perfect example of “New vs. Old” in the city
But I did stumble upon more people as I neared Piazza Gae Aulenti, one of my favorites in Milan because it’s next to the “plant buildings”, or more officially known as Bosco Verticale.
The perfect place to be in the summertime.
I spent a good hour here walking up and down the paths, watching people passing by and sunbathers on the many lawns scattered about. There was something about all the lush greenery that made me feel okay with slowing down and not “rushing to get to the next place”.
Wow, so gorgeous…
After spending a while among the fresh greenery, I made my way to Porta Venezia. In an attempt to find ways to socialize and meet people outside of work—and after 14 days of isolation—I scheduled a spot in a walking tour. How pathetically touristy of me 😉.
Porta Venezia
Since it was a HOT Sunday afternoon, it was just me, a volunteer walking tour guide (a sweet woman) and another expat who was actually from Japan and Germany!
The three of us managed to spend two hours together, though I had silently hoped it would only be one…my feet were killing me at this point, and I suppose it was the fact I did too much walking before the actual tour 🙈.
Peep that head!
The buildings were pretty and I agree, the architecture was gorgeous, but the heat, my feet, and FOMO were getting to me again. I couldn’t concentrate on the walking tour guide’s voice because I was too pre-occupied with the idea that I felt like the same ol’ girl that left LA—wandering aimlessly through city streets all alone, unsure of if she’d find groups of people to actually have fun with, or even just a decent boyfriend to spend her days with.
This going out to do solo stuff was getting tiring, but I felt guilty for having these thoughts because I had just moved to a whole new country! Why couldn’t I just take a deep breath and appreciate it more?
Some of that gorgeous architecture in Porta Venezia
When the walking tour was over, I made my way back home. Of course I stopped for gelato along the way, I at least deserved that 😂.
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It’s been about 4 months since moving to Milan, and it has been a surreal experience, to say the least. To think that earlier in the year, things seemed dire and impossible, to now, where I am writing blog posts in the comfort of my monolocale in the northeast corner of the city…it’s unfathomable. And despite the eeriness of COVID that still looms above us, I have to be grateful that given the situation, life has been good. I’ve had my ups and downs (and towards the latter half of my current stay, I’ve been battling what feels like more down days than I would like), but I try to be thankful because I eventually did make it to Italy, and I have a chance to create a life of my own choosing.
I’ve realized that Milan is definitely not my city, nor is it the la città più bella in all of Italia, but I can’t complain about it’s comfortably small size and excellent safety (especially when compared to Los Angeles). Overall the people are nicer than in LA, but they certainly lack the pazienza I wish they had when it comes to my current struggle with learning Italian. I can see why it’s not much of a destination for tourists, but it is a cozy place to call home.
We’ll see where this city takes me…hopefully it will have some more good things to offer me in the future ✨
